Cross Town Thoughts
The Side Trek has bought a new place in New York. Primary residence remains thesidetrek.com. But, now you can also visit at sidetrek.nyc in a new little studio. Either way, you’ll end up here. Thanks to GoDaddy and mAdBen. Blog on!
Veteran’s Day. Good time to re-read War by Sebastian Junger.
Parts Unknown this season resurrects America’s wasted past. Bourdain’s recent tour to Vietnam was hard to watch. Reminded how many contemporaries lost so much there. As did they. Why? In Iran this week, Anthony was able to get a rare glimpse of attractive, modern, vibrant families at sumptuous if vigilant tables. Where a mystery action can render a journalist couple jailed. It also shone the light on how U.S. sanctions and old transgressions deeply affect everyday life.
Election over. Can we stop talking about gender and race, now. Please. And focus on competence and governing. What? I woke up from my nap. Nevermind.
Marathon weekend. Dr.Husband’s birthday always overlaps with New York’s longest race. Breaking news. A Kenyan won! High winds almost blew runners and farmers market away. Kevlar and squash prevailed.
Del Posto dining experience surpasses. Freshest food with creativity chiave. Lidia Bastianich matriarch of Gotham’s tavola Italiana. Cacciucco di Livorno. Another version of seafood stew. Sauce sublime. Meaty pasta with lamb neck ragù.
Peyton Manning v. Tom Brady. Stats aligned. Discordant score. Niners out. Tomorrow Stray honored. Giants #92.
Ichabod Crane. Dark knights. Must be that time of year again. Achieved a pumpkin-free zone. No gourds, dried stalks or Indian corn either. Okay. Cheap candy for kids. Trick or treat. All Hallow’s Eve. Once. Not an entire week.
Orange is the old black. I’ll be the usual. Rhymes with witch. Yeah. I rehearse all year. So. Just no. Crinkly Hillary cleavage. Ebola hazmat suits. Headless horsemen of Isis. Not too soon. Never. Make it stop. Is it Kranky Kristmas yet?
Emotional trade-offs. Ian McEwan’s The Children Act is packed full of them. An English family law judge struggles with making the best of lousy situations. She is a detached woman, necessary for her work yet it spills over into her marriage. A study of rigid religious and social constructs so easily shattered. One simple word or gesture can change everything. The novel is ultimately unsettling.
Ebola trades. Science vs. psychology. Quarantines overly constrain. Self-monitoring causes strange side effects like having a hankering to get on a cruise ship, airplane, or subway train. The major issue is resources. Hospital staff, law enforcement to track down potential contacts, proper facilities. Exponentially expensive. In the meantime, stay away from those e-bowling shoes.
Not the München one. Rest easy. I won’t be wearing my dirndl in the küchen. Nor is Dr.H sporting his favorite lederhosen. But, we are making our own festival of Fall tastes from late farm stand treats of the Valley. Potato Turnip Leek Soup with horseradish and chives. Red Cabbage Apple Soup with sesame seeds, maple syrup and Asian spice. Potages d’Octobre. RecipeDetours.
Local autumn brews, too. Oktoberfest Lager. Berkshire Brewing Company. Octoberfest Märzen. Sam Adams. Red Oktober Ale. Wandering Star. Slug a large stein as you sip a small glass of fragrant rich soup on a cool dark afternoon. Bon weekend.
Pope Francis made an earth-shattering revelation. He actually took a page from the Good Book. God loves all those who love each other. Now Catholics can, too.
Doctors should not be spokespersons for Ebola messaging. Medical speak can be both inflammatory and misunderstood. Panic ensues. And speaking of shocks. Pauley Perrette, an actress on NCIS had a severe allergic reaction to her black hair dye. It can be deadly. Ring. Ring.
If you believe your Master Card debt is held at the savings & loan around the corner, read Jake Halpern’s new book Bad Paper. Even small community banks are bundling and selling off assets. So, don’t expect your nice neighbor at the customer service desk to call you when your payment is late.
Unique Saturday late-night sushi summit at Nakazawa on quaint village Commerce Street. No wasabi shmears nor soy sauce here. Purist omakase only. Skipjack, mackerel, scallops, uni taste as if they’d just jumped out of the sea onto the simple chic plates. A quiet table at the back window enhanced the 20-piece folie. Rumored to have been enjoyed also by Pitt and Jolie.
Twin Peaks return? Laura Palmer said she’d see us in 25 years. It’s here. Ray Wise, Leland Palmer is currently playing a cult leader on Y&R soap. So, he’s available. Calling David Lynch. Can’t wait. Meanwhile, Homeland is back. Carrie escapes dreaded motherhood, off to Afghanistan as Brody’s baby clone Frannie stays back home. Sociopaths on both sides of the terrorist conflict.
Pats, Giants and Niners win. We’ll take what we can get. Don’t celebrate yet.
The Judge movie produced by and starring Robert Downey is finally hitting the screens. Filmed in SideTrek Falls locations around Western Massachusetts. Just follow the road over that red bridge. Speaking of which, Jennifer Garner’s production company has sold a sitcom to Fox about a young couple wanting to move to New York City but get pregnant and are stuck in Agawam. Down 91.
Michelle O finally got through to Barack. Man up! Fire that blankedy blank woman. Then there’s Zeke Emanuel who advises President on medical issues. Don’t worry. Ebola won’t come to our shores. It’s not good to listen to a physician who has announced that people should only live to 75 anyway.
I don’t dwell. Much. That often. Bon weekend.
Helen Gurley Brown dubbed wallflower women “mouseburgers”. Lena Dunham’s new book gives advice to such women that takes Brown’s mantra to heart. Stay single as long as you can and have all the sex you want. Call the shots and don’t be a doormat. Trailblazers both. In a good way?
Speaking of mouseburgers. Secret Service Chief Julia Pierson’s performance in front of the House Panel to address glaring lapses in security was abysmal. Competence trumps gender. She doesn’t seem qualified to run a Quik Stop.
Side Trek . NYC 